Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy: A Critical Review

Many females have psychological well-being issues during pregnancy or after giving birth. It can happen to anybody. Depression and anxiety are the most widely recognized psychological well-being issues during pregnancy. These affect a significant number of pregnant females. Especially helpless are those females with histories of mental ailment who stop psychotropic drugs during pregnancy. Mental health issues can also be associated with abortions, broken homes, problems between the couple, unhealthy work-life balance, undue stress, physiological disorders, and other associated comorbidities. Pregnancy is traditionally considered a good time with good feelings, but it is not so. Until a few years ago, the only importance given to mental health was after childbirth (preference was given to disorders such as postpartum depression {PPD}). Nowadays, mental health is given its due attention right from conception, to antenatal care, to labor, to the postpartum period. Patients are educated on the importance of mental health and its short-term and long-term effects on the mother and the baby. The baby's father is educated because he can play a crucial role. Various researches show that children born to mothers who suffer from mental health ailments such as depression are low-birth-weight babies. Societal problems such as poverty, overpopulation, overcrowding, and poor hygiene can also adversely affect the mother's mental health. Some valuable solutions can be medication such as antidepressants, talking to a therapist, exercising, talking to close friends and family, couple counseling, and de-stressing. A phenomenon called postpartum depression is also prevalent and is given its due importance.